The Witch's Blight
by Kaikajo
Summary: They've been stuck together since they were young, after Layla found Natsu half dead in the woods. Lucy is a young heiress grown up in a household ruled by cruelness after the death of her mother, and Natsu is a cursed boy who transforms into a raven by sunrise, and human by sunset. In order to save Natsu, they must find "Lumen Histoire", a supposed entity that can grant any wish.
1. Chapter 1

**1\. Lazy Daisy Fall Down Hastily**

* * *

Lucy glowered at him from where she sat, her position crouched against the chair, as if she were ready to pounce at him. "Aw, come on Natsu!" Lucy whined from across the chair between them. "It's almost sunset-"

"That worse!" Natsu shouted back, still dodging Lucy's attempts to snatch him. He jumped over her head, her fingers brushed the bottom of his claws, and he perched himself on top of the bookshelf to rest his tired wings. "Once I'm human it'll be gone!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and leaned her old oaken broomstick against the chair. Placing her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Mom won't tolerate your behavior if you keep doing this! She's going to kick your butt out of here!" Despite her attempt to sound menacing, her high-pitched voice didn't help. At the ripe age of six, Lucy still stumbled over her own two feet.

"Never go on a train again! All you tricked me! Never again!" Natsu hollered into the air, flapping his brilliant, flame-red wings frantically.

"Hold it!" Lucy swiped her broom into her hands and dashed over to the clock on her tiny stump legs before running back into the living room. "It's gonna be six o'clock!" Lucy squealed as pink smoke exploded around them, obscuring her vision. Lucy waved her hands around to clear it, coughing as she did so.

"Gah!" Natsu's feet dangled in the air as he clutched onto the top of the bookshelf with his life, his puny feet swung back and forth frantically. "L-Luce! Help!"

"I told you!" Lucy stomped her foot, creating a tiny thud sound. "Idiot Natsu." She muttered before raising her voice. "Alright, don't worry! I know what to do!" She cleared her throat as she brought her feet up together, tossed her broomstick aside, and raised her hands up, as if she was about to conduct an orchestra. "Ah, wait-" Lucy extended out to reach for her mother's old witch hat, just for safety measures, despite it slipping down to cover her eyes more so than not. Going back into position again, she closed her eyes and cleared her throat once more.

"Ahem," Lucy exhaled slowly, slowly opening her eyes.

"Hurry!" Natsu hollered.

"Um…" Lucy's eyebrows knitted together as she thought. "How did it go again?" She mumbled to herself, glancing down at the red rug, hoping it would jog her memory. Natsu wailed once more, and Lucy glared at him. "Oh, be quiet! I can't concentrate!" She shook her tiny fist at him, pouting as she examined the red rug with unusual interest once more. "Ah!" She brought her hands up in the same position again and smiled with confidence.

"I think… it was ' _lazy daisy fall down hastily_!" Lucy waved her arms up in slick, smooth motions.

Natsu felt a pulling force tug him at his ankles gently. "I-I think it's working!" Natsu said, earning a delighted squeal from Lucy. The force tugged at him again, but this time, it was trying to yank his _ankle_ off of his body. "GAH!" Natsu plummeted to the ground at an alarming speed. Lucy's stomach dropped just as fast as Natsu was free falling.

"Lazy daisy _float_ down safely."

Natsu hovered in the air briefly before gently landing on his two feet. Lucy turned around to face her mother, her eyes twinkled with admiration and excitement. Seeing her mother adorned in her witch armor always caused excitement to run through her blood. It was a high-low dress, flowing. It reminded Lucy of spring- the skirt shimmered like soft pink clouds at dusk, it started up at her knees, then flowed down to her feet. White flowers dotted her loose beige blouse, the sleeves came to her elbows with loose slits cut into them.

"Sweetie, you have to get the spells right if you want them to work!" Layla laughed as she picked her up, planting a quick kiss on her flushed cheeks. She picked up Natsu shortly after and flicked him on the forehead lightly. "And _you_ , little raven. Overcome your fears, or else you can't conquer the world with Lucy!" His lips quivered, but he nodded his head vigorously. She kissed the top of his fluffy wad of pink hair, and set him down next to Lucy. She rolled the sleeves up to her shoulders. "Become strong!" She flexed, a bright smile displayed on her lips as she got giggles and laughters from them at her strange pose. "So nothing in this world can tear you apart or bring you down!"

"Strong like you!" Lucy jumped up and flexed her own arms, mimicking her, with a fierce smile on her face.

Layla laughed and nodded, drawing the both of them in to a tight hug. "Mom has to head out first, you two will head out with Dad later, okay?" She pulled them back to look at them.

"Why can't we go with you?" Lucy asked, gathering her fluffy white dress into her fist.

"I just have to do something really quick at work! Then we'll meet up again, I promise." Layla cast Lucy another dazzling smile. She glanced at the clock and stood back up. "Now, don't cause trouble for Dad, and make sure Natsu wears the outfit we picked out for him."

"Do I have to?" Natsu muttered back, slightly pouting. He liked wearing the black loose shirt and white baggy trousers that Layla made for him, it was spacious.

"It's only for tonight! Don't worry. I made it magical, so that it will protect the both of you." Layla winked at them, and chuckled as she saw their eyes light up. Entertaining children came to her like second nature. "I'll see you soon!" She planted a kiss on both their cheeks. Natsu rubbed both of his cheeks with distaste until they turned bright red.

"You're staying for the summer, right?" Lucy asked quietly, clutching her skirt with her tiny fist. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that she should hold her back. Just for this night.

Layla smiled again, softening her gaze as she ruffled her hair. "Of course, sweetie. The whole summer, I promise."

Lucy beamed with happiness and hugged her legs tightly. She waved goodbye until she couldn't see Layla anymore, until the sunset swallowed her figure.

* * *

 _A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hope y'all enjoy this as much as I do lolol. Enjoy the holidays! Also Natsu's supposed to have broken english haha._


	2. Chapter 2

**2\. Happy**

* * *

"Dad?" Lucy poked her head into his study room, and flinched back when his sharp gaze pierced her soft eyes. She shivered, even though the weather was sweltering hot.

"Yes?" His voice ricocheted throughout the room, his voice imprisoning her. Lucy slipped into the room and ran towards his desk, suddenly afraid. She could hear her footsteps echo in the room, it made her realize how small and tiny she was.

"I-I made you something." Lucy stuck out both of her hands, a rice onigiri was cradled in her hands. Her fingers were still sticky with rice bits.

She wasn't sure if she saw his eyes softened, or if it was the glint of sunshine that shone into the room that warmed him, but it was gone a second later. "No need for that, go back to your room and study." He averted his gaze from her eyes to his desk.

Lucy's heart deflated, her arms lowered slightly. He had merely glanced at her, he didn't even look at what she was holding. "But papa-" Lucy protested, raising her hand up to him again.

"Go. Back. To. Your. Room." He demanded harshly, each word pricked her like needles. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze landed on the onigiri. "What? Are you trying to bribe me, so that I can accept your wish to become a witch like your mother?" With each passing second, anger filled his eyes as he dwelled on the thought. Lucy could hear her heartbeat banging in her ears.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows together and shook her head in confusion. Every single conversation they had after her mother had passed away, he would always bring up the topic, even if it didn't even correlate to what they were talking about. "That's n-not what this is for-"

"You don't understand, do you?" Jude shook his head angrily as he rose from his chair. Lucy stumbled back, her shoulders squaring up as she pressed her hands together close to her chest in fear. "What it is to be a witch, Lucy." He didn't bother trying to lean down to her height, and stayed high above her. She was unable to reach him, and he was an inescapable prison. "You will end up just like her…" Jude made a slick motion with his fingers, slicing them across his throat.

"Mr. Heartfilia!" Miss Spetto's voice boomed, causing Lucy to flinch and snap out of the swirling fear that began to build up inside of her. "She is only _eight_ years old!" She picked the onigiri off the rug, along with several stray rice pieces. Lucy hadn't remember dropping it.

"She'll never learn how dangerous the world is unless I tell her when she's still young-"

"Jude- pardon me, Mr Heartfilia. I think it is _best_ if we leave you to your work for today." Miss Spetto grabbed hold of Lucy's tiny, trembling hand. Miss Spetto ignored Jude's cold gaze on her. "Come, Lucy. Let's get you some dessert, hm?"

Lucy gave a short nod as she let her lead the way out of the room. "It's…" Lucy felt her nose scrunch up as she tried not to cry. "It's my birthday." She whispered quietly, when Miss Spetto closed the door.

"I know sweetheart," Miss Spetto lifted Lucy up, giving her a tight hug. "I know. Happy birthday, you poor thing."

* * *

"Lucy?" Natsu pecked her arm gently. She wouldn't move her head from her arms. Natsu let out a sigh, or at least, if he was human he would've. Instead, it came out like a growl. He wasn't even _sure_ if normal ravens could even make that sound. He was out taking a short flying trip into the forest, and when he returned, he found her shaken up and crying at the front door. "Wanna tell what happened?" Natsu asked again. He was still rough with his language skills, but he was getting the hang of it.

Lucy shook her head. Natsu flapped up from her arm and went on her head.

"If you don't lift your head I'ma poop." He announced.

Lucy scrambled up, almost knocking Natsu to the ground in the process. "You _wouldn't_!" Lucy hissed at him, puffing out her cheeks.

"But I _would_." He teased, smiling.

She glared back down at the ground, her shoulders slumped again as she sat back down. "Dad yelled at me again…" Lucy's lips quivered as she thought about it. Her eyes were casted down in the same shadow Natsu saw when they were at Layla's funeral, almost a year ago. Natsu started to panic, he was never good at cheering up Lucy, or anyone. She was too unpredictable for him.

"Forget your dad! He sucks!" Natsu hopped around in front of her nervously as he noticed his words had little to no effect on her. "U-Uh you wanna go walk in the forest? I can show something!" He flapped his wings excitedly. Traces of Lucy's tears were still fresh on her cheeks, but she visibly perked up at those words. She sniffed.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Follow me!" Natsu tried his best to sound enthusiastic and excited, which wasn't hard for him. What he found was _pretty_ amazing, if he did say so himself. Lucy laced up her brown boots and wrapped her creamy poncho over her bare arms. She snatched her broomstick before trotting out into the afternoon heat with Natsu. The trees shielded the blazing hot sun from beating down at them, providing a cool atmosphere as Lucy followed closely behind.

"What'dya find?" Lucy asked curiously. Her mother's witch hat was still too big for her, yet she still wore it whenever she went out.

"'Sa secret!" He replied back with a happy chirp.

"Alrighty, Princess!" Natsu announced with triumph as he perched himself on top of Lucy's head again. "Here it is!" Lucy glanced down at where Natsu's wing flung out.

It was an egg, a snow white egg with a tint of sky blue speckles on it. Lucy eyed it warily. "What is it…?" She used the end of her broomstick to poke at it. "Is this for _me_?"

"Hah! No way!" Natsu shouted and fluttered over to the egg, landing on top of it. "This is _my_ egg. I found it first. I was just showin' ya my great discovery!" He made himself comfortable on top of the egg. "I found it… um few days ago-" Natsu staggered off the top of the egg as it began to tremble.

"Natsu!" Lucy scooped him up before the egg could crush his tiny body as it fell sideways. "Is i-it a baby hen or something? O-or would hens be called a baby chick first?" Lucy mumbled to him, inching away from it.

"I dunno! I thought it… was food. We could cook it later or something!" Natsu confessed as he trotted up Lucy's arm to rest himself on her shoulder. "Yummy chicken?" He suggested.

" _H-Ha-H-Hap-!"_

Lucy widened her eyes and scrambled back, tossing Natsu up in the air. He fluttered down gracefully in front of the egg, his neck craned to the side.

"Hap?" Natsu repeated back with surprise. A blue fur ball erupted from the egg, scattering the shell bits around them. "I'm naming him Happy!" Natsu deadpanned, inching closer to the cluster of blue fur. He brushed Happy's fur with his wing, it was as soft as velvet. The blue cat had big, wide, black eyes and sky blue fur. He was just as weird looking as _Natsu_.

Happy blinked once, then twice, before he looked towards Natsu with even wider eyes. "Food?" Happy asked, his head cocked to the side. Water began forming in his mouth as he continued to lock eyes with a fearful Natsu.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading! hearts for you all! Next update should be on Jan 22nd. Stay tuned!_


	3. Chapter 3

**3\. Fairy Primroses**

* * *

Lucy wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, exhaling with satisfaction as she observed her work. Lacing one arm around her broomstick, she placed the other hand on her hip. "Alright, Natsu!" She hollered into the air as she snapped her fingers, a gust of wind whirled around her as she spotted the crimson feathered raven zooming straight at her. "I did it!" She lifted her right arm up as he flew closer. Natsu latched himself onto the sleeve of her black glove that extended a little higher up her elbow. Lucy staggered back at the impact, and she glared at him when she caught her footing.

"Geez, you're going to rip my arm off one day…" She muttered as she moved a step forward.

"That's the point."

Lucy could hear his smile in his voice. She rolled her eyes, not bothering to answer his snarky remark.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Natsu unlatched and latched his claws around Lucy's arm nervously as she raised her arm up to stare at his beady black eyes.

"Oh, it'll work." She promised with a confident, dazzling smile. She practiced day and night to perform this rune, it took her a _full_ week straight. She even had the old witch down the road help her perfect the spell. "I think it only works if you stay in the circle though." She nodded her chin towards the intricate, large circle design in the dirt that she created with the end of her broomstick.

"I dunno Luce. Don't you kinda suck at magic-"

"I _do not_!" Lucy gasped, waving her arm around so he'd get off of it. "If that's what you think, then I won't help you! I don't need you anyways!" Lucy huffed at him angrily. "I got Happy-"

"Happy is _mine_!" Natsu jumped back on her arm and pecked at her glove. "I found him first!"

"Do you think anyone would believe a bird owning a cat? Huh?" Lucy taunted.

"He's not a pet!" Natsu insisted and settled down on her arm again, ruffling his wings. "He's my friend!"

"The neighbors keep calling me the weird animal girl…" Lucy grumbled at him. "My rep here is going to be bad-"

"Princess, it's already bad." Natsu flapped his wings towards her.

"You're _really_ making me want to destroy this rune with my foot." Lucy glowered at him. "Do you want to be human or not?" Natsu shrunk back in terror and bowed his head. Satisfied, Lucy pet his soft feathers. "Atta boy!"

"I'm older than you." He grunted. "And you're treating me like I'm your _pet_."

"Still shorter than me. Plus, you're only older by a few months." Lucy disregarded his second point and set him down on the ground. "See? You're an ant." Lucy chuckled darkly.

"I'll be turning fourteen first though, and I'm _taller_ than you when I'm human anyways." Natsu cackled just as darkly. It seemed sinister whenever he smiled as a bird. "You haven't even grown that much since you were six-"

"Hurry up and get in the circle before I erase it!" Lucy stomped her foot angrily.

"Fine, fine! Sheesh." He hopped over into the middle of the circle,careful to avoid the curves and lines. Lucy flipped her hair from her shoulders with one swift motion as she took a step back from the circle to even her footing. She parted her feet shoulder width wide and extended her right arm out with her palm open, her other hand rested on the inside of her elbow to steady her arm.

"Alright, you ready?" She shouted as the outline of the rune began to simmer with a purplish glow. A quiet ringing sound slowly emerged with the light, growing louder and louder the brighter the rune inscription became.

"Hurry it up!" He shouted back, his wide, beady eyes were trained on her.

"Alright, okay. I got this." Lucy grumbled as she furrowed her eyebrows together. All she had to do was say one word, what could go wrong?

"Transformare!" Lucy pushed her hand forward into the rune. Natsu burst into pink smoke, just like how he would at sunset. Lucy, giddy with excitement, waited with anticipation to see the human Natsu in _actual_ broad daylight.

"Uh.. Lucy?" She heard his voice, but the smoke was still thick.

"What!" She ran and jumped around the circle. "Did it work?" She gazed at the smoke intensely as she saw his pink spikes emerge from the smoke.

Yet… something was terribly off.

"What the heck!" Lucy busted out laughing, almost falling down on her butt. "Y-You…" She dropped to the ground on her knees as she erupted in even more laughter. "Y-You have human _hair_ now!" She laughed even harder as the smoke cleared, revealing the miniature version of Natsu's human hair on the red raven. "It's… _perfection_." Lucy picked herself up, sitting cross legged as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Oh my god…" She snorted again, trying to keep from laughing.

"Like I said." Natsu sighed, defeated. "You're a _terrible_ witch." He concluded with finality, his head hung so low that she felt bad for him. She got up and cupped him up in her hands, chuckling.

"Sorry, maybe I don't have enough magical energy to get you there completely." Lucy played with the tuft of rosy pink hair on his head. "At least the hair squeezed through." She shrugged as he hopped up her right arm when she extended it out. She picked her broomstick up off the ground.

"And you still can't fly." He shook his head with dismay. Lucy puffed her cheeks out in annoyance.

"I'll get it down! You can't even _ride_ anything!" Lucy shot back quickly. She dragged the soles of her brown boots across the rune, messing up the design before they started to head back home.

"I can." He raised his beak up with triumph. "I can fly by myself, at least I don't need some cleaning device to do it. And I was always okay when Layla flew her broom!" Lucy paused, just for a second, with her eyes casted down. Natsu watched her face drop, a flash of pain, and then emptiness. "Hey…" Natsu cocked his head to the side, gently pecking her cheek. "Sorry." He could feel his stomach drop.

She shook her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. The broomstick almost whacked Natsu down.

"Wanna go visit her grave when I become human again?" He suggested.

* * *

"Hm…" Lucy cocked her head to the side and turned her head to face him. "Should we get her more flowers or should we try getting her different ones?"

He shrugged as he pulled at the grass beside his feet. "Doesn't she like Daffodils?"

"You mean Narcissus'?" Lucy placed a finger on her cheek.

He rolled his eyes and threw a handful of grass at her. "Same thing, no one even calls em that." Natsu got up from his criss crossed position to stand beside Lucy, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his white, baggy trousers.

"I know, but it's funny when you get annoyed." Lucy giggled. She leaned in close and pulled at his shirt slightly, frowning. "You need new clothes, I don't want someone who looks like they climbed out of a garbage can walking around me at night. Dad's lackey's might shoot you down."

"No way." He immediately refused. He always wore the same ol' black shirt and baggy white trousers, only changing them to different sizes as he grew up. Lucy shrugged and tugged her light pink poncho around her tighter. "I can handle them anyway, they're easy to knock over."

"Underestimating your enemy is going to be the death of you one day." Lucy murmured, lightly punching him on the shoulder. She gazed out at the lake, a sigh of contentment escaped her lips. "I think Daffodils bloom later in the spring or something. Winter just ended." She began pulling out some grass along with him.

"Uh, doesn't she also like those primrose flower stuff? White ones, Fairy something?" Natsu scattered the rest of the grass over her skirt. Lucy brushed them off and hit him lightly with her elbow, he chuckled in response.

"You mean Primula Malacoides?" Lucy raised an eyebrow at him, smiling. She liked how he addressed Layla in present tense.

" _No._ I meant Fairy Primroses." Natsu snorted and turned to face her glassy, brown eyes. "Let's go get some near the forest."

"I'll get them." She jogged to pass him, and turned her head back slightly. "They're poisonous, remember? Don't want you eating it, like you always did whenever we passed by anything that looked _somewhat_ edible."

Natsu rolled his eyes and jogged up next to her. "Come on, I was like seven! Who _wouldn't_ eat everything at that age?"

* * *

 _A/N: HELLO! Hope you enjoyed the story. Made some changes here and there, hope you like the new version so far! (Although there's not too much change... hehe) Thanks for sticking xoxo_

 _Next Update: Feb 5th_


	4. Chapter 4

**4\. Shortstack**

* * *

Lucy swallowed loudly, drinking her tea in short sips as her eyes darted nervously from the food on the table, to the man in front of her. "Mm…" She murmured into the teacup. "The tea is quite… exquisite?" She laughed dryly as she slowly set it down. It annoyed her how _he_ chose what drink to get her, and he got one of the more bitter teas one could possibly offer. The dress she wore squeezed her body _way_ too tight, she couldn't even nibble on anything else, or it would explode.

The pudgy man sitting across from her was _supposedly_ the "great" Duke Sawarr Junelle, the man that she was _supposedly_ engaged to.

"Is t-that so?" He smiled at her nervously, she swore he was sweating buckets.

"So…" Lucy started as she swung her legs up, stretching it as she tried to reach her toes. Sawarr looked at her with surprise, as if he was appalled by her movements. "What's exactly going on right now?"

"What d-do you mean?" He asked before wolfing another cupcake.

"This." Lucy waved her hands, gesturing towards the fancy restaurant. "I mean, yeah, I agreed to meet you." She undid one of the lacing strings behind her. Letting out a breath of relief, she wasn't sure if she was going to survive the evening if it was left like that. "But I never agreed to an engagement."

Sawarr looked at her thoughtfully. "Is t-there something w-wrong with that?" He inquired shyly. The tone of his voice made Lucy shudder with uneasiness.

Lucy turned her head to the side, muttered several curse words under her breath, before looking back up at him. "Yes. Actually. I thought this was just some… business talk, but apparently my dad, um, Mr. Heartfilia I mean, _lied_ to me." Lucy stood up and tied the lace back behind her loosely. "As a matter of fact, I'm only sixteen." She scoffed and handed him some money. "I'll pay for my half of the share, but I'll be leaving first." Marriage was _not_ on her list right now.

"You can't leave, Lucy."

She had to fight back a gag as his sweaty hand caught her wrist. " _Excuse_ me?" Lucy glared at him. His sudden change in manner caught her off guard. He changed from being the shy, sweat creepy midget to an _extremely sweaty and creepy_ midget.

"Your father promised me that you would marry me- for business." Sawarr explained. "I was also planning to reject this proposal, but I've taken quite a liking to you…" He eyed her from head to toe.

Enough was _enough_.

Lucy was _done_ with being polite.

"Oh, _please_." Lucy snatched her wrist back and slammed her other hand on the table in front of him, the plates and glasses clattered under the force. "Well I don't like you! You're creepy and weird and- and all sweaty!" Lucy exclaimed loudly. The entire restaurant was staring at them now. "If you think for one _second_ that I would even consider marrying the likes of you, then you're out of your mind!"

"But L-Lucy!" He started, but she shushed him up with her dangerous glare.

"That's _Miss_ Heartfilia to you, _Duke_." Lucy hissed. "We are not on friendly terms, let alone acquaintances! I will not marry you just because you think I'm some sort of _eye candy!_ "

"Like I said, Lucy. I wouldn't leave if I were you." He warned her again, rather menacingly. Under his stuttering mess, there was some sinister about his words. Even then, all she could do was snort.

"Oh, please enlighten me." Lucy nodded her head sarcastically as she crossed her arms. "Ah, actually, before you begin…" Lucy took a step towards him. She was easily a head taller than him. "I'm a witch, so you should be _very_ careful with your words." She murmured, cocking her head to the side.

Sawarr scoffed, staring right back at her. "If you abuse your power, the Royal Council can easily take it away from you. Aside from that, White Witches do not excel in offensive magic-"

"Shut the hell up, shortstack."

Lucy turned around a little too quick, she stepped on the hem of her dress in surprise.

"Natsu?"

She didn't panic or flail her arms around as she fell, he caught her arms before she fell flat on her face.

"Graceful as always, even in front of your future fiance." Natsu half joked, he still held her close to his chest.

"Whatever." Lucy rolled her eyes and pushed him back a little. "And he's _not_ my fiance!" Lucy jabbed a thumb back towards the confused man. "Actually, the bigger question is why _you're_ here!"

"To chat with your Duke?" Natsu tilted his head to look at the Duke, he nodded his head as a greeting. Unfortunately, Sawarr didn't understand the movement. "Don't tell me you forgot that I'm your bodyguard for tonight."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" He challenged Natsu angrily.

Natsu rolled his eyes and peeked behind Lucy to look at him. "I feel _really_ bad for you." Natsu looked back at Lucy, his lips tilted into a smile. "Your dad sent me, so just sit over there while I give him some ground rules about being your husband." Natsu nudged her towards the bench at the entrance.

"He's _not_ my husband!" Lucy growled, "and I'm pretty sure Jude hates your guts." He gave her a knowing look, and she knew exactly that he was going to save her from this terrible set up. "Alright! Fine. Whatever, just don't scare him like you always do with everyone else. Or else Jude will hate you even more." Lucy threw her hands up in surrender and hobbled over to the bench, plopping down on it firmly. Her gaze was locked on Natsu as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"This is nonsense! I will not stand for this kind of harassment-!" Sawarr exclaimed as he stood up. Natsu pushed a firm hand down on his shoulder, slamming him back down onto his seat.

"Talk to me for a while, yeah?" Natsu sat down in the chair Lucy was in. "How old are ya'?"

"Twenty one. Who on earth are you? Do you even have the authority to-"

"All you need to know is that I'm with the Heartfilia family." Natsu leaned back in his chair and gave a toothy grin. "So, what do you like about Miss Sass over there?" Natsu nodded his head to where Lucy sat. She was impatiently tapping her foot.

"She has a rotten attitude," Sawarr started, and Natsu almost fell off the chair, "but if she were to become my wife, I wouldn't mind. She's pretty. Luckily, appearance doesn't reflect on personality-"

"Well, you just ultimately failed the test. You're the fastest person, congrats." Natsu clapped his hands together. "Also, just so you know…" Sawarr didn't notice that Natsu was suddenly leaning in his chair, very close to his face. He _swore_ he saw a vein popping up on his forehead as he spoke. "I'm a Black Witch." He whispered, speaking the words out slowly. "I don't think you want to piss me off more than you already have." A shudder ran through Sawarr. "Just like that," Natsu snapped his finger next to Sawarr's ear. "And you can become freshly, grilled, minced meat." He growled lowly, quiet enough for only him to hear. He pulled back and smiled at him. "Seems like you don't really _like_ her. I think it'd be wise if you go running back home to look for another girl. Maybe she'll be desperate enough to marry you." Natsu got up and pat down Sawarr's curls. "For the money, at least." Natsu slapped his back in means of a friendly gesture, but he almost crumpled into a heap on the floor from fear, embarrassment, and anger.

Lucy jumped up as she saw Natsu tread his way towards her, his smile as bright and big as ever.

"What'd you say?" Lucy peered past Natsu's shoulder, to see Sawarr slumped against his chair.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Natsu shrugged and draped his arm across Lucy's shoulder. "Let's go hit the haystack at Porlyusica's place so your pops doesn't find out you ditched your date!"

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading! xoxo_


	5. Chapter 5

**5\. Fireball Natsu**

* * *

Lucy frowned as Natsu fluttered his wings, they slapped against her face, and once he was finally through, her mouth was filled with his vibrant red feathers. "You're getting too big!" Luxy exclaimed as she stroked the feathers on Natsu's left wing. He was almost as large as a seagull. "I remember when you were _thiiis_ small!" Lucy pinched her fingers to the size of a grain of rice.

"And you're still _thiiis_ small!" He mocked back. She was sure if he was in his human form, he would've mimicked her.

"-and chubby!" Happy chimed in, nibbling on the piece of fish Lucy caught for him.

"And no dinner for you two tonight! That's your last meal of the day Happy! Better enjoy it!" Lucy smiled brightly as she stood up, the both of them toppled to the ground as they rolled off her lap.

"Happy, I've _told_ you…" Natsu hopped around in a circle. "Don't _ever_ insult her weight!"

Lucy glared at them but decided to hold her tongue. "Whatever, time to refocus," she muttered.

Natsu rolled his neck and sighed. "Why do you have to learn offensive spells?" He groaned.

"Because, I want to defend myself? And not with only protective spells?" Lucy exclaimed, staring at him like he was crazy. "Having protection or defense spells won't save me if I get caught in a fight."

"That's why you have me!" Natsu exclaimed back, flapping his wings once more. "Look! I can even shoot fire in this form!" He shot up into the air like a torpedo, zooming fast above them, past the top of the trees. "Fire dragon's wing attack!" His right wing burst into brilliant flames as he shot back down at alarming speed, and swung his wing towards a block of wood. "And my new technique!" Natsu once again shot up into the sky, higher this time, and then plummeted towards the ground in a fiery ball of flame. "FIREBALL NATSU!" He cackled as he broke the closest rock into pieces.

"This is the reason why you keep breaking your wings! When you're a bird you're fragile!" Lucy massaged her temples in an attempt to calm herself. "Just keep me warm and provide company, okay?" Lucy crouched over to the small campfire Natsu had made from the piece of wood block he lit on fire. "Besides, if you get hurt, what'll happen then? We wouldn't be able to survive out there, and then there's Happy we have to look over too." Lucy fanned at the fire to keep it from sizzling out. She looked up at Natsu and pushed her two braids behind her. "The reason why I'm doing this is to protect the three of us during the day, in case we run into some bad people."

Natsu lowered himself onto Lucy's new glove- fingerless and chocolate brown. It laced up just past her elbow. "I can do _way_ more than what I just showed you!" Natsu countered. "You can hardly fly two feet off the ground on your broomstick, and we're already seventeen-"

"I've been practicing…" Lucy muttered, casting her gaze to the ground. A blush of embarrassment crept up her cheeks. Every witch learned to ride their broom when they were _at least_ thirteen.

"You've been practicing ever since the Yearly Witch Reading!" Natsu squawked back. "Flying is one of the most basic casts!"

"I know, I know!" Lucy scowled at the ground. "I was a lot better than I was when I was fifteen, at least." Lucy grumbled. She was lucky that her administrator for the Yearly Witch Reading didn't ask Lucy to fly. She would've just embarrassed herself to death. Every magic user who wanted to be registered as a witch had to go through and pass the Yearly Witch Reading. It indicated what type of witch someone was, as well as test their ability to see if they could control their magical energy.

"Is it 'cause of what that administrator lady told you?" Natsu blurted out.

"Her name is _Kyouka_." Lucy would never forget her alluring green hair and her mysterious onyx eyes. "You're lucky she found out you had magic energy waves coming off of you too, or else we never would've known you were a Black Witch. What would you have done if the Council asked for your Witch License when you're human? You'd be a lost cause." Lucy chuckled as she remembered Natsu almost burning up the testing building while Kyouka translated Natsu's magical energy waves.

Lucy was a little jealous of him, being a Black Witch and all. They were more highly regarded, since they had better capability of using offensive spells compared to White Witches. But she was going to prove every single witch that a White Witch could _just_ be as good as a Black Witch in offensive spells.

"At least I didn't drown the room in flowers…" Natsu muttered back. Lucy's face grew pink again.

When she was tested, Lucy had to do a simple, harmless spell. All she had to do was grow a fully bloomed flower from one seed, an Asphodel flower. Instead, by the time she opened her eyes, the room was _overflowing_ with them from the one seed she held in her fist. She had to play it off, pretending that she was just showing off. Many of the witches who took the Yearly Witch Readings would do so, to show off in front of their peers.

" _An immortal flower that grows in the Elysian fields_." Natsu recited in a heavy voice. Lucy raised her eyebrow.

"You actually still remember that after three years, huh?" Lucy smiled.

Natsu shrugged his wings again. "Well, it was the thing that started all of this anyway. Hard to forget." Kyouka had mentioned how the Elysian fields were connected to _Lumen Histoire_ , an old legend that said 'it' would grant the wish of any living being who found it. The reason why no one has ever found it was due to the fact that no one knew where it was. If it was a place, person or thing, that was unknown too. Even Porlyusica didn't know if it existed, and she spent a good chunk of her younger years searching for it herself.

"It's one of your mom's favorite flowers, right?"

Lucy smiled, yet it was rather sad. When she was younger she used to burst into tears at the mere mention of her mother. Now, it only left a dull, aching hole in her heart. "It is. I'll miss visiting her grave." Lucy let out a sigh, accidentally igniting a stray piece of cloth into flames. "Oh shoot, wrong spell." Lucy mumbled, trying to pat it out with her foot. She felt weird calling Layla mom now, and felt especially weird whenever she thought of the word dad for Jude. It just didn't feel right.

"Miss Spetto could always tend to it," Lucy turned towards Natsu. "I could leave her a list of flowers Layla liked-" It was hard to tell what Natsu was going to do or say in his raven from, his beady black eyes never gave anything away.

"You don't have to search for Lumen Histoire for me, Luce." Natsu opened his beak and stared down at the cloth underneath her boots. "We can bring your mom back with it, I don't mind switching between being a bird and a human, it's pretty fun-"

"Oh don't say that!" Lucy crouched down in front of him, adjusting Layla's hat in the process. It was a simple hat, old and tattered. Her training hat. Surprisingly, it was a dark brown. Layla was always known for wearing bright colors, according to Miss Spetto. It was laced with black trimmings at the rim and base, at the tip of the hat was a white lacrima stone shaped into a small star. "You know it's annoying! And nothing good comes out of bringing the dead back." Lucy placed her hands on her cheeks, lost in thought. "Of course Jude can't find out about any of this, he's the main issue. We decided to do this as a team! There's no backing out now." Lucy stood up and dusted off her fluffy, vibrant red skirt, accidentally spotting her tan blouse with specks of dirt in the process. She pulled at the hem of her loose fit brown waist jacket and smiled down at him.

"We'll be fine, even if Lumen Histoire isn't… really what we think it is. We need to get that wish so you can become human again." Lucy exclaimed with the utmost positivity, it scared Natsu. "Once you're human, maybe the title 'weird talking animal tamer' will finally go away. It gets kind of embarrassing when you hit seventeen."

* * *

 _A/N: Ooh sorry for the late update, meant to do this in the afternoon! hehe. The new chapters are almost coming! I'm excited \o/ Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_


	6. Chapter 6

**6\. The Great Escape**

* * *

Lucy sleepily opened her eyes, a yawn escaped as she shuffled around from her quick nap. She raised her arms, stretching them, as she looked over to her right. Natsu's head bobbed up and down to the rhythm of the train, his eyes drooped down, his head tilted to the side to rest against one of the rotten crates. She smiled and wrapped her arms around her knees, placing her head down on top. She remembered drifting off after realizing he had fallen asleep.

"Hey, Natsu?" she whispered. She wasn't sure if he would hear her ghostly voice.

He jolted up in his position, his eyes snapping open as if someone had poked him with cold ice. He glanced at his arm, Lucy's touch was light.

"You fell asleep while I was telling you something earlier," she frowned.

He relaxed a moment later, letting his head fall back to the side of the crate and closed his eyes. "It's 'cause your voice is nice to fall asleep to." He heard her scoff, and he smiled. He knew she was probably blushing, it was too easy to embarrass her, he couldn't help but tease her when he could. But it was true. Her voice could lull him to sleep, if he let himself relax.

"You've been sleeping a lot lately." She murmured. Peering at his relaxed face was odd, since he's been extremely tense the past days. "Not sure if that dream you had was good for you though, you were ready to punch me when I woke you up." Not like he hasn't done that before.

"Nah," he responded back, his eyes fluttered open. "You just surprised me. The dream was kind of nostalgic, actually." Despite the short nap he took, it felt like he had been sleeping for years.

Lucy didn't pry further. For some reason, he never liked talking about what he was thinking, or what he was dreaming of. She peered out the window, the sky was just beginning to turn dark. "I would let you sleep longer, but I think we're almost at the beach…" She glanced down at Happy and adjusted the small blanket over his body, which was curled up against her side.

Natsu made a sound of disappointment. "What time is it?"

Lucy checked her silver watch- a gift that Layla had left her for her fifteenth birthday- and frowned. "I think I need to fix it again, it says it's four P.M." Lucy muttered. "It's probably around eight at this point-"

"Wait-" Natsu stared down at his hands and feet, as if realizing he had a body for the first time, "I'm human? Why didn't I wake up?"

Lucy shrugged. "You almost squashed me when you did." She shuddered at the memory, rubbing her arms up and down. "I swear you were going to cut off the blood circulation in my arm!" Lucy perked up, as she made a realization. "You know, I wonder why you always get to keep your clothes. I mean, isn't it weird-"

"Want me to be naked then? We can arrange that." Natsu grinned at her jokingly.

Lucy coughed, her face grew bright red. "I'd have to burn my eyes to get rid of the damage you would've given me." Lucy quickly countered back as she turned her face away from him. She heard him laugh softly. Then, it was silent again. The only noise left was the hum of the train engine. They took refuge in some storage room full of abandoned items full of old mechanical parts and rotting boxes, which were probably heading to the Enca's junkyard.

Natsu jolted up in his position, sitting up straight as his head tilted towards the window slightly. He cupped his ears, his eyes narrowed. "I think your dad's lackeys are chasing after us." Natsu announced. Lucy tilted her head out the window as well, but all she could see was darkness.

"Really?" Lucy turned around to peek out the window. "I thought I was pretty convincing back then-"

"I dunno Luce, you kinda suck at lying."

"It's not lying," Lucy started, sighing as she explained it to him for the nth time. Natsu sighed with her, because he knew exactly where this was headed. "It's simply an exercise I've been testing out!" She clasped her hands together, giving him one of her dazzling smiles, her eyes beaming. "It's good to train your creativity while thinking up of 'what if' situations, if you know what I mean. I haven't had time to write much, and just like magic, real life application is always the best way to master an ability-"

"You lied to him, Lucy." Natsu stated, giving her head a light pat. "I'm proud of you! Learning how to navigate through the real world now!" Natsu smiled as he saw her face from the flashes of lights that danced past them from the passing lamps, streams of dull yellow light frequented their area.

"Oh, shut up!" Lucy whacked his hand away. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, she hated it when he treated her like she was some kid. She knew what she was doing, she was just… sheltered as a child. Unlike Natsu, she didn't have the luxury of exploring and visiting other places.

Natsu opened his mouth, and she could tell from his expression he was going to tease her some more, but his smile turned into a frown as he whipped his head outside once more in alarm.

"Well, if it comes down to his henchmen coming after us, then I guess you're going to have to protect me right?" Lucy joked. He turned his head back towards her, the worriedness fell from his face as the light caught her again. Her cheek was pressed against her knees, her bangs were beginning to shield her eyes. She lifted her head and looked outside with a smile he hadn't seen in years, it was as if she was a bird being finally released from her cage.

"R-Right." he cleared his throat and averted his gaze from her. "You need a haircut, maybe after we reach Fiore we can look for one."

"Same goes to you," Lucy muttered back as she accepted the hand he extended out towards her. "How's your stomach?"

Natsu's face was turning green with each passing second. If they didn't jump out now, then she would have to toss him off the train.

* * *

"Okay, this was not part of the plan!" Lucy shouted as Natsu swooped in behind her and picked her up in one swift motion.

"Well there's nothin' we can do about it now!" Natsu grunted back as he slid down the sandy hill, maneuvering his head away to avoid getting clobbered by Lucy's broomstick.

"Dad already hates you, and now he's going to hate you even more!" Lucy panicked as she locked her arms around his neck. "He'll never let you back in the house after this-"

"Who says we're going back!" Natsu glanced at her quickly with exasperation. "We ain't gonna hobble our way back over there after getting our asses halfway across the world! You've been-"

"We've been." Lucy corrected him.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "We've been planning this for four years." He set her down after gaining sight of the shoreline.

"Ugh!" Lucy ran next to him, hooking her broomstick to the latch on the side of her backpack. Happy drowsily peeked out from the opening in it, confused and disoriented. "This is so stupid!" Lucy hissed as she threw glances behind them.

"Don't look back, it'll slow you down." Natsu grabbed her cheeks and turned her head forward again.

"Why won't they just go away? Did they actually think I'd just sit there and let them use me for business expansion?" Lucy unconsciously accepted the hand he offered her. They carefully made their way down the rocky hill, and Natsu lifted her up and set her down on the sand. "Thanks," She huffed out in frustration, still simmering over the thought of it all. She dusted her hands off against each other.

"Over there!" Their voices were distant, but not far enough for their comfort.

"Lucy…!" Happy shuddered. "They're gonna try to kill us!" Happy stammered nervously, pointing at the dangerously intimidating weapons they were holding- it was the Magic Equalizer, one of Jude's latest inventions.

"Uh oh," Natsu unhooked Lucy's broomstick and draped his leg around the end of it. "Time to haul ass, Luce!" Natsu pulled her in by her waist, forcing her to sit at the front.

"Wait w-what?" Lucy glanced behind him nervously. The broomstick was already beginning to hover into the air as Lucy got into ready position. "Wait are you sure about this? You want me to fly-"

"Across the ocean, yes." Natsu finished for her, glancing behind himself. Without warning, he tossed his body to the side, along with Lucy. The broomstick twirled to the left, Lucy didn't have enough air in her lungs to scream. They had narrowly missed a gunshot. "One hit with that bullet and your magic will be out for a good week," Natsu muttered with annoyance.

"Gah! Why can't you do it?" Lucy threw her hands in the air and gripped the broomstick until her knuckles became white. "Alright, whatever! Here i-it goes!" Lucy inched forward nervously.

"NOW!" Natsu shouted. Tilting his head to avoid another bullet. He kicked the butt of the broomstick, causing them to blast forward. "I don't have my broomstick license!" Natsu shouted at her so she could hear over the roar of the wind.

"That's the first thing we're going to get you when we get to land!" Lucy shouted back. This was the fastest she had ever gone, and she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to keep it up for as long as they had to.

"Fly higher!" Natsu could feel himself getting soaked from the ocean, they were only mere inches above the surface. If he straightened out his legs, it would be submerged into the water.

"I don't like heights! You know that!" Lucy squeaked back. Her voice got caught in her throat as she glanced back. She swerved to the right, causing them to spin numerous times again. Before she knew it, she was thirty feet from the surface with her head spinning. The henchmen were following closely behind them, easily gaining speed.

"Ooo shit." Natsu declared.

"What now?" Lucy groaned. His voice sounded oddly distant, and she turned her head back.

She was 30 feet from the surface, her head was still spinning, she was riding on a new broomstick Jude had made as a prototype, and now Natsu was dangling off of it. "Can you swing yourself over?" Lucy shouted.

"Like hell I can! We're going ninety miles per hour!" Natsu shouted back as he struggled to keep his grip on the broomstick.

"Happy! Go grab him!" Lucy wiggled her shoulders, trying to get Happy's attention.

"I'll be blown away at this speed..." Happy's muffled voice came from inside of her backpack. Lucy groaned and leaned forward, slightly increasing her speed. She couldn't slow down, they'd be caught. But if she didn't, then Natsu would eventually fall off.

"Okay." Lucy perked up a bit, straightening out her back as she let out a breath of concentration. "Grip that broomstick with your life, I'm going to go higher!"

"Go left Lucy!" Natsu shouted, "left, now!"

Lucy clenched her jaw hard as she swerved to the left once more, narrowly dodging another bullet.

"Luce-!" Natsu started, but her thoughts drowned out his voice as she swerved again. The bullet grazed the fabric of her jacket on her shoulder. Before she knew it, she was tumbling head first into the ocean. She searched the air for Natsu, and stuck out her hands towards him, and another one towards the ocean. "Levitate!" She shouted. Natsu's body abruptly stopped, the air was knocked out of his body from the force. His head was just mere inches away from the surface. Happy was suspended in the air, holding Lucy's broomstick. She sighed with relief.

"I hate the ocean." Natsu stated as he stared down into the bottomless pit. She carefully pulled her arm closer to her body, slowly moving Natsu towards her in broken movements. Another bullet rang through the air.

"Flammeus orbis pedes!" Flames shot from underneath her, giving her a quick boost higher into the air. It was shaky, the fire came in hiccups as she strained her hand to keep a grip on Natsu. He was flung up with her, his heart was stuck in his throat as he was lifted up, his body feeling the effects of the off gravity that was around him. She hooked her legs around the broom again, her hand was still outstretched towards Natsu. With her other hand, she shot it out below her. "Scutum caligo." She whispered, the world around them turned gray.

"Huh," Natsu stated, as he was slowly floating towards her, in abrupt motions again. "You're getting better at your mist shield, but I see some patches and holes in it."

"Oh, shut it! I saved your life." Lucy plopped him behind her again, and he gratefully gripped the handle. "You're welcome." A bullet shot through the mist, and it was already beginning to quickly dissipate. "Alright, back into the backpack!" Natsu opened it and stuffed Happy inside, zipping it up partially to give him some air.

"You need to learn some basic skills for yourself," Lucy muttered under her breath.

"Go! They're coming!" Happy squealed as he hid himself hid back into the depths of Lucy's backpack.

Lucy gripped the broom with both hands and leaned forward, zooming back up into speed.

"I got an idea!" Natsu shouted into her ear for her to hear, his breath tickled her neck. He spun around, his back against hers, and wrapped his legs around the broomstick to keep from falling over. He cupped his hands around his mouth, inhaling a large amount of air.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Lucy could feel the searing heat form where she was, and gawked at the sudden burst of speed… and also at the drastic change in size of his magic. He hadn't used magic in his human form in a while, and it was twenty times bigger than when he last used it.

Natsu's fist pumped the air, howling and whooping into the air, as the henchmen were scattered in disarray, they were soon a dot in the horizon within mere minutes.

The night sky was filled with their laughter as they surged onward.

* * *

 _A/N: Hi! Sorry for the month long wait lmao. Im gonna be on hiatus after this chap, school and work have been killing me,, Thanks for reading tho! After this chap, it'll be new content from then on yay !_


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